15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the
one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because
he was before me.’”)16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in
place of grace already given.17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and
truth came through Jesus Christ.18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only
Son, who is himself God and[b] is in closest relationship with the Father,
has made him known.
9 The
true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.10 He was in
the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not
recognize him.11 He
came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.12 Yet to all who did receive
him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of
God—13 children
born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but
born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen
his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of
grace and truth.
29 As
for the other events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not
written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the
Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat?
30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 Then
he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David his father.
And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.
13 The
weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,[d]14 not
including the revenues brought in by merchants and traders. Also all the kings
of Arabia and the governors of the territories brought gold and silver to
Solomon.
15 King
Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels[e] of hammered
gold went into each shield. 16 He also made three hundred small
shields of hammered gold, with three hundred shekels[f] of gold in
each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 Then
the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with pure gold. 18 The
throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. On both sides
of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 19 Twelve
lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it
had ever been made for any other kingdom. 20 All King Solomon’s
goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest
of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was
considered of little value in Solomon’s day. 21 The king had a
fleet of trading ships[g] manned by
Hiram’s[h] servants.
Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes
and baboons.
22 King
Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.
23 All the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon to
hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 24 Year after year,
everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and gold, and robes,
weapons and spices, and horses and mules.
25 Solomon
had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horses,[i] which he
kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 26 He
ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the
Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. 27 The king made
silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig
trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from
Egypt and from all other countries.
